This book was published to celebrate New York poet John Ashbery’s poem “Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror,” inspired by the sixteenth-century painting of the same name by Italian artist Parmigianino. Arion Press founder Andrew Hoyem invited Ashbery to produce a fine print edition in the early 1980s inspired by the poem. Ashbery had ties with many artists, and he and Hoyem invited artists with whom Ashbery was close friends, or whose work he especially admired, to create the prints for the volume.
The circular format echoes the mirror of the title as well as the vinyl recording that is included of Ashbery reading his poem. Eight artists joined in this tribute by contributing prints in a variety of mediums, all in this circular format, that respond either to the poem or to the Parmigianino painting. The resulting prints present a range of styles and techniques: lithographs by Elaine and Willem de Kooning and Jane Freilicher, an etching by R. B. Kitaj, a woodcut by Jim Dine, and a hand-colored photogravure by Larry Rivers. The unbound pages are contained in a stainless-steel canister mounted with a convex mirror for viewers to peer into.
John Ashbery (American, 1927–2017), Arion Press (established 1974, San Francisco), and various artists, Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror. 4 lithographs, 1 woodcut, 1 soft-ground etching with aquatint tone, 1 etching reproduced by photogravure with added pastel hand-coloring, 2 photolithographs of a photograph, 2 photolithographs of a painting, and letterpress on cream wove handmade paper, 1984. Diameter of case: 19 1/4 in. (48.9 cm); depth of case: 1 5/8 in. (4.1 cm). Gift of Molly and Walter Bareiss, 1984.1337a–pp. Not on view.*
*Art Minute celebrates the full range of the Toledo Museum of Art’s collection. Not all works featured are on view; some (especially works on paper and textiles) are sensitive to light damage and can only be displayed for limited periods of time. Others may be on loan to another institution or in storage for other reasons.
